Happenstance
by Soss
Summary: The afterhappenings of a chance encounter what does it show? Kibbs
1. Chapter 1

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_Hello again, hello again :) Not much of an A/N, other than 1) I hope you enjoy what follows; 2) there may or may not be a piece to follow...; and.. 3) I don't own **squat **:D (although I sure wish I did..) Oh well.. have a lovely day everyone and enjoy :)  
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The incessant aroma of stale beer, hard liquor, and musky perfume drifted and hovered in a dimly lit haze. It hung in the air, as thick and as heavy as the smoke that crept into the bar from the smoldering cigarettes that idly corralled outside the front door. Atmosphere was never really his thing, but he managed. He came around every once in awhile, after a long day or when he just found himself in need of a slow drink— one in a crisp, spotless glass with Scotch that wasn't poured from a single malt bottle sheltered beneath a workbench, hidden in a desolate basement. One that he could mechanically sit in front of, wrap his hands around, and let condensation subjectively slide over his fingers and pool around the glass, while he stared into caramel-colored, ice cube prisms.

Atmosphere wasn't necessarily a deal breaker, unless perhaps when it made you uncomfortable. But he always felt that a person needed a certain amount of discomfort— to make him aware, to make him stable. But presently, he wasn't appreciative of the discomfort that may have bombarded him, as he was too attentive towards the task at hand: Gibbs raised his glass and took a long, slow swallow.

He wasn't typically a bar-watcher either, as he quite typically just watched his drink. Occasionally he would peer at his reflection in the dusty mirror that covered the back wall of the bar, or steal glances at the predictable bar flies that flanked either side of his barstool. Tonight though, he sat at the end of the bar with his back to the front door, giving him a perfect view of the entire establishment... whether he liked it or not. With no mirror to childishly occupy him, no wall to stare at, he couldn't help but periodically observe the patrons.

He made a gradual appraisal of the scene that faced him, and as he was about to look away, down to the fading pick-me-up held loosely in his hand: there she was... demurely seated in the center of the chaos. Kate sat at one of the small tables along the far wall, taking a lengthy drink from her tall glass. Gibbs unconsciously did the same as he thoroughly studied her from his safe place across the bar.

She had her hair down, gently falling over her shoulders in relaxed, casual waves that loosely framed her softly flushed face. From what he could see, she wore a simple crimson dress, strapless and flattering. His mind wandered, and he imagined that there really wasn't much that _wouldn't_ be flattering on Caitlin Todd. She looked alone at the moment, but her table was haphazardly covered with half-eaten plates of food and several empty beer bottles. She sat quietly, with her head bowed, tracing lazy circles around the rim of her glass with the tip of a finely manicured index finger. He watched her shoulders heave with a faint sigh as she casually pushed her hair over one shoulder, turning her head to look towards the back of the bar. Gibbs suddenly felt a tiny pang, to think that his team didn't offer him an invitation. Despite turning down each previous request from Kate and Abby, he still enjoyed the proposition. Especially when it came from Kate. He began looking around aimlessly for signs of Tony or Abby, when he saw it.

He sat and watched helplessly as a tall, blonde, slightly tanned 30-something smoothly sidled up to Kate's table, slipping into the chair next to hers. _The lawyer_, he grumbled to himself. She smiled shyly, the corner of her mouth curling upward just enough to be perceptible, before looking back down to her drink. He noted that she was either unusually nervous or in a half-hearted situation, then found it mildly amusing that one expression could hold completely opposite connotations for the poor bastard. Gibbs lowered his head and raised his glass, his mouth and his hand meeting half-way. He couldn't help but wonder what the hell she was doing with such a suit; always imagining Kate should be with someone more… _What_, _more like you?_ His mind cruelly teased him. Soon his reproachful self-pity turned into uncomfortable self-consciousness and stabs of annoyance. _Jealousy_, his conscience corrected him. He essentially knew that he had no valid right to be annoyed or jealous, no right to be resentfully desirous of someone he had no tangible claim to... but he had always imagined.

His focus slowly returned to Kate and the body sitting close beside her, the arm snaking around her shoulders and the hand that dangled low, dangerously hovering over her chest. She seemed almost uncomfortable with the arrangement as she chuckled briefly and swatted at her date's hand. He removed his arm, but snuck in for a kiss, pressing his lips against the side of her neck.

Gibbs' jaw tightened, his jealous heart growing furious and finally getting the better of him as he tossed down a few bills to cover his small drink tab. His hand clenched and unclenched around the collar of his jacket after grabbing it from the back of his chair. What the woman did to him, and she didn't even know… didn't even have a clue. Soon in the emotional safety of the chilly summer night, he walked alone, the wind rushed his back and whipped at the lifeless jacket he held tightly in his fingers. Running a hand through his already mussed hair, he mindlessly looked up and down the street, despite knowing exactly where his car was parked a block away.

He stood there for a minute before stepping off the edge of the curb to cross the street. He stood there and exhaled the long breath he had been tightly holding and keeping to himself; the heavy sigh that he felt Kate would have intuitively heard.

All of a sudden her voice drifted melodically down the broken sidewalk, reaching and teasing Gibbs' ear, making him stop. He turned and watched her from the shadows, not so much out of scrutinizing jealousy, but of his own private concern and curiosity. He watched her pat and gently stroke the man's arm, leaning up to place a small, chaste kiss on his cheek before returning her heels to the ground. She stayed in her own personal space. While Gibbs could hear her speaking, he couldn't quite make out the words. He kept telling himself to move along, get the hell out of sight while he had the chance to walk away unnoticed. But he stayed.

Whatever it was that Kate happened to be imparting unto her date, he did't seem to be taking it very well. Gibbs' brow furrowed as he crossed his arms and struggled to hear the conversation. An elderly couple neared him as he spied, and the woman shook her head disapprovingly as they continued to walk; Gibbs stopped squinting at the fighting Kate and John (his name being the only thing he managed to catch), looked to the couple and cleared his throat. As they walked past, Gibbs pretended to search his pockets for nonexistent keys to the car that wasn't his, parked directly in front of him off the sidewalk.

He casually looked back over his shoulder to see John grasp her elbow, and Kate pull away sharply. Kate shook her head vehemently and put her hand up, reinforcing the distance she began to set between them. A dull droning filled Gibbs' ears as he watched their silent speech, being drawn into the scene that played out before him. He began to slowly walk closer to where Kate stood, her arms defensively crossed in front of her chest, intensely arguing with her date. Gibbs stood a mere five feet away now, behind John and directly in her field of vision. As Kate's argumentative gestures happened to send her gaze over John's shoulder, she caught Gibbs' eyes and stopped. Their stare locked as her eyebrows rose in silent confusion, her breath stopped, and she stood there, momentarily struck for words. Becoming distracted from her current circumstance, she opened her mouth to speak, but the hazy dream-like sequence was shattered as the back of John's hand angrily made contact with her cheek. Taken by surprise, Kate reeled backwards a few steps, stumbling in her heels before she could register exactly why her cheek stung so violently, bringing quiet tears to her eyes. The muffled buzzing Gibbs heard before did not die away as instinct kicked in. He stiffly grabbed the guy by his shirt collar and, whirling him around, practically lifted him off the ground in a single, fluid motion.

Gibbs held no uncertainty that she could have handled this situation; that she could have easily taken him out; put him out of commission in a sheer nanosecond once she had gained her bearings. But there was something about seeing it unfold, actually _witnessing _the biting altercation that made Gibbs feel the need to act. The absolute need to beat this person, who dared to raise an angry hand to his Caitlin Todd, to a bloody pulp. He heard himself yelling something at the guy, he felt him struggle in his hands, he heard the commotion slowly coming back, but he fully snapped back to the present when he felt Kate's gentle hands on his arm. He noticed her look of pleading desperation, fear coating and cracking her voice as he heard her raspy whisper: "_Gibbs…**Please**_." Gibbs blinked and hesitantly released her date, who clearly had a spot too much to drink as he nearly staggered to the ground, completely disoriented. John fiercely cursed at them both as he scrambled to his feet, striding unevenly down the street to his car. Kate and Gibbs stood alone on the sidewalk, respectively stunned and silent. He watched the other man walk off until he was no longer in sight, before steadily turning his gaze to Kate. She was staring at him openly, not knowing whether to be grateful, angry, or scared with the man that stood beside her; his protective stance not going unnoticed. Her mouth moved to form words, but not a single syllable would come; so she stopped, and continued to silently gape at him. He cast his eyes down to the cracked cement beneath his feet, shoving his hands into the depths of his pockets, and patiently awaited whatever emotion was about to overflow.

Kate looked around them, searching expectedly for the words that she couldn't immediately find inside of herself. She held one hand defensively on her hip, while her other rubbed her forehead in frustration before pushing stray strands of hair from her face. Looking down at the ground, she fervently shook her head.

"Gibbs.. I… I could've _handled_ it… I _could have taken care of_… _this_! I-I could have—" she stopped herself and paused; breathing heavily, she exhaled deeply for some small stitch of composure. A sudden, sinking feeling of slight paranoia crept into her stomach. She felt smaller in front of him now, and she didn't at all enjoy the thought of him seeing her as less than she was: less than the strong woman she wanted him to think of when he looked at her. When he watched her in that unique way she would fleetingly catch, whenever she caught his stare. She didn't mean to, and she cursed at herself silently when she heard it escape.. but she sniffled in spite of herself. She could only imagine how it sounded to him; probably more like a small sob than a brief sniff of poise. But she tried desperately to shelve the embarrassment that was steadily rising in the back of her throat as she closed her eyes. His heart twisted and constricted intensely at the sound of the choked sniffle that caught in her throat, but he still refused to look at her.

The delicate, angry undercurrents that had clouded their communication slowly ebbed and faded with the sudden silence as Kate stood at arm's distance, reaching out her fingers to barely brush against his forearm.

"Gibbs." Kate spoke softer than before, but with a warm push that made him believe that maybe her rant had ended-- _Impossible_, he thought. His eyes gradually wandered up to her face. He felt guilty, and probably looked it too, as he felt the flush of his skin slowly creep up the back of his neck— but he wouldn't apologize for his strange and inherent need to guard her from her own bad choices in men.

Kate folded her arms in front of her, hugging herself in face of the subtle chill that would periodically gust against them. "What are you _doing_ here, Gibbs…" her voice was soft, almost sympathetic, but still subconsciously laced with an agitated curiosity. She took a step closer to him, her head tilted to one side, her brow creased with blatant confusion as she patiently stood in front of him. Her sudden calmness unnerved him. Where was the yelling, the scolding, the harsh criticism for prying into her personal life…

"**_Gibbs_**..." Kate softly exclaimed in quiet frustration, her eyes searching his face for some physical sign of communication that she may have missed. Not picking up anything but his silent emptiness, she sighed, her arms heaving slightly against her chest as she shook her head and looked to her newly scuffed shoes. "Well.. now that you've scared away my ride _and_ refuse to speak to—"

"_You were going to get into a **car **with that creep_..?" he erupted. Gibbs' face swiftly contorted into an expression of pained disbelief and anger; his eyes widened with his eyebrows pushing together, creased in stressed exasperation. Her eyes quietly flashed at him while his outburst subsided; the corner of her mouth twitched, but she couldn't quite bring herself to smile.

"No, Gibbs…" but her eyes did all the smiling for her; her face flaunted a quietly bemused expression as she folded her arms tighter against her chest. "But it got you talking.. didn't it." His eyebrow slowly rose as he mirrored her stance, crossing his arms in front of him; amused that she had emotionally fooled him, but was still not fully convinced.

She breathed deeply and looked at him softly, her eyes full of quiet understanding and an odd sense of gratitude. It was safe to say that for a brief moment, Gibbs had frightened her; she was fully aware of that side of him, of his protective "hunt-them-down-like-dogs" demeanor, but she had never imagined she'd witness it in _this _context. Despite what others may have considered over-the-top, she respected, even deeply admired his sheltering care: Gibbs' "gentle" side. It gradually warmed her wholeheartedly to be on the direct, receiving end of such attention.

"You're not going to let me take a cab, are you…?" she asked doubtfully. Her cheek began to take on a deep red tinge, subtly matching the crimson of her dress while successfully standing out against the flush that colored the rest of her face. He hesitantly brought a hand out of his pocket and raised it to her cheek, delicately touching his fingers to the soft area underneath her right eye. Kate's eyebrows rose in gentle surprise, but allowed him to gingerly touch her face, watching as his jaw-line subtly clenched. Unconsciously wetting her lips with a quick and ephemeral run of her tongue, her eyes blinked slowly.

"… Are you, Gibbs?" He brought his attention back to her eyes as his hand retreated.

"I wasn't spying on you.." he stated roughly, just loud enough for Kate to hear him unmistakably. She simply nodded, unfolding her arms and clasping her hands in front of her.

"I know.." she reached up and gently patted her hand against his cheek, stopping with a stroke of her fingers down the side of his face before returning her hand back to her own personal space. She smiled tenderly and chuckled, looking back down to her shoes. "So... are you going to drive me home, or should I start walking..?" She spoke softly, looking back up to him and lightly placing her hands precariously on her slender hips.

A barrage of emotions rushed his brain; uncertainty, affection, embarrassment, guilt, satisfaction… She saw the slight sadness creeping into his eyes and the confusion gently etched on his face. He suddenly realized how much he lamented never having the opportunity to be one of her bad choices. Kate stepped into him, leaning up and pressing a slow, slightly wet kiss to his cheek before starting to intuitively walk in the direction of his car. She turned to him when he didn't follow, the wind carelessly tossing her hair as she slowly walked backwards. Expertly sauntering in reverse, she gave him her softest 'what-are-you-waiting-for' glance.

With a few long strides he was beside her, silently walking down the sidewalk towards the next block. Before he had the chance to self-consciously shove his hands back into his pockets, Kate reached between them, still looking ahead, and slid her small hand into his. They continued quietly down the street, strolling through the cool haze of a slowly ending August night.

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	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Much thanks to Kibbslover for helping me out this time around :) Wonderful suggestions.. hope this fits everyone's bill :)

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Kate stared vacantly at a lone crack that had indiscriminately etched itself across her ceiling. She was sprawled out on her bed— not comfortable, not sleeping, and definitely not tired. She hesitantly glanced over to the clock staring at her with its threatening red digits, and sighed heavily. 3AM. Hot and aggravated, with both her broken air conditioner and her sudden restlessness, she kicked the blankets to the floor in an exasperated fit and left only the sheets on the bed. Then she lay perfectly still, with more skin now exposed to the sticky night air, and brought a pillow over her face. Into the soft goose-down, she groaned in frustration at her heated insomnia. _Luckily_, she thought, _it's only Saturday..._

"_Pleeasee,__sleeeeep_…" she croaked aloud, soft and muffled with her face thoroughly buried into her pillow. Kate breathed deep and pulled the pillow away, tossing it irritably to the floor to rest along with the comforter. Her body was ready to sleep, that much she was sure of. But for some reason her mind couldn't seem to successfully locate her OFF switch. Typically, she wouldn't be able to sleep if she had left something unfinished, or had forgotten to do something altogether. She racked her brain to find reasons for her sudden onset of anxiety.

'_Work_?' She hummed, but wasn't convinced. '_John_..' Kate "Mmmm'd" a little more forcefully. She rubbed her face as she exhaled, still not completely satisfied with these sources as grounds for her insomnia. And all of a sudden she stopped, leaving her fingers gently covering her eyes.

"Gibbs." She mumbled into her palms. With a groan, she sat up in bed, letting her hands tumble and fall into her lap. She sat and suddenly wondered if he was sleeping… where he was sleeping… _Why should **he **get to sleep_? Kate frowned lightly and looked over to the cell phone that rested peacefully on her bedside table. She sighed with the realization that there was no reason to do it. No reason other than some twisted curiosity that turned erratically in her brain— one that she wouldn't be able to fully explain if he were to pick up the phone... if she were to call and not immediately hang up the phone when he answered. If he answered.

Her mouth quirked with a spasm of uncertainty, but she reached for the cell phone and thoughtfully turned it over in her hands. She really shouldn't… she wasn't mad at him, so there was no sense in waking him up in some cockeyed vengeance, even if she only wanted to hear him. _**If** he's even sleeping_, she thought musingly. She bit at the corner of her bottom lip before a loud "Hmph" escaped her, and she fell back into the pillows.

She thought of the ride home— how quiet it had been, the subtle intensity that had completely filled the car. She hadn't considered it as a necessarily _bad_ intensity… but it was something that she had fully acknowledged, despite not being able to fully recognize. She had smiled at him softly, patting his hand that rested on the shifter, and thanked him for taking her home. He gave her one of his short nods, not keeping her eyes for all that long; looking away from the angry red streak the graced across the top of her cheek. She saw his jaw clench slightly before he asked her to flip the lights when she got in. Her eyes flashed with slight confusion, followed by a hasty realization as she looked at him warmly and nodded, telling him that she would. She had gotten up to her apartment without a problem, without a sign of her previous dating-_disaster_. Something, she imagined, Gibbs had already thought of as he sat and waited patiently out in his sedan. She flicked the lights once, twice, three times, pulling the curtain from the window so she could see the street, and gave him a small wave. Gibbs observed her for a minute, before she watched him drive away down the darkened street.

She laid there for a good 10 minutes before her conscious resolve to keep her sleeplessness to herself faded to nothing more than an afterthought. She exhaled deeply in the muggy atmosphere that filled her bedroom, threatening to wholly devour her as her fingers carefully slid over the keypad. She impulsively punched in a sequence of numbers that she would soon never forget. She couldn't stop her fingers— and her mind yelled for her to close the phone. And then it started to ring. She still had time; time to press "End" and force herself to sleep without the satisfaction of his voice… _Hang it up, Kate… **Kate**. Hang up the phone…_

On the fourth ring, she was about to end the call; about to release the small sigh of relief that had steadily built up in her chest. She took the phone away from her ear when she heard him speak. A gruff "_What…_" made it to her ear. She sat there and stared at the receiver for a split second before a slightly mellower "_Hello_..?" came over the line.

Kate warily brought the cell-phone back to her ear. She wet her lips as she opened and closed her mouth in an attempt to speak. Swiftly snapping the cell phone shut, Kate tossed it away from her. The phone landed with a bounce at the end of the bed. She shook her head and closed her eyes with a sigh, laying back on her pillows and rubbing her face.

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Gibbs slowly sat up on the floor beneath the boat, his brow flinching as he heard the familiar _click_ of an abruptly ended phone call. He took the phone away from his ear and looked at it in confusion before checking the Caller ID. He recognized that number..

"Kate..." he mumbled to himself. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed the time; then frowned slightly when the tape-loop of urgent situations began playing through his head. Gibbs exhaled and raised his eyebrows as he lay back down on the floor. He held the phone above his face as he pawed at the call button with his thumb, automatically dialing Kate's number. Bringing the cell to his ear, he waited.

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Kate's eyes snapped open at the shrill ring of the phone that rested at the foot of her bed. She sat up and looked at it blankly; bewildered, carefully crawling over to it, but not daring to touch it, she bent her face close to the phone, and read "Gibbs" off the caller ID. Kate groaned as she picked up the phone in one hand, running her thumb over the face of it. She thought of "accidentally" letting the call go unanswered, but she figured the consequences of doing such a thing were far worse than whatever was waiting on the other end of this particular telephone line. She cautiously opened the cell phone and answered Gibbs' call.

She didn't speak right away, which prompted him to verbalize his lingering concern, "Kate…?"

"Yeah… Hi, Gibbs." was what she finally managed to come up with before _he_ was the one to hang up the phone. _Good, Kate. Real smooth. Real good and smooth. _Her voice was soft; her tone was almost one of defeat— she hadn't meant for it to sound the way it did, but as the words tumbled from her lips, she knew the impression they were going to leave. She inadvertently sighed at herself as she stretched and flattened her back against the mattress, slowly relaxing with the phone.

Gibbs' forehead creased as he sat back up from the floor. "Is something wrong, Kate?" His voice was low but stern as he held the phone securely between his ear and his shoulder. He was ready to get up and grab his keys off the workbench at the slightest inclination of a problem.

"No, Gibbs… everything's alright." She said softly, her smooth voice drifted through the phone and floated gracefully into his ear, immediately soothing away most of the anxiety of all the late-night emergencies he had envisioned. He nodded as if she would hear it.

"You called me..?" he drew out the question slowly, already full well knowing the answer.

Kate paused before replying. "Did I wake you up, Gibbs..?" She asked coolly. Her expression was still undercut with a slight tension, but, to some extent, her voice had relaxed. He calmed a bit more as he laid back down on the floor.

"No, Kate.. Why would I be sleeping at," he took a second to focus his eyes on his watch, wrinkling his brow, "3:18 in the morning." His voice was thick and groggy, but in truth, he hadn't been asleep for all that long—besides, he welcomed an opportunity to speak to Katie Todd, no matter the hour. He exhaled softly and looked up to the ceiling, waiting for a response. When her silent pause just continued, he looked back to the phone, "Kate?"

"Mmmm?"

Gibbs sleepily closed his eyes with a faint smirk and shook his head. "Was there something in _particular_ that you called me for?" His tone belied the smile that mindlessly drew across his face.

"Yes— I mean, _no_… I just—" Kate grumbled at her inability to speak in a coherent sentence and took a breath. "I couldn't sleep, Gibbs.. I'm sor—"

"Maybe you should count sheep, Katie…" He softly interrupted her apology with his musing suggestion. He ran an idle hand over the smooth plank of wood above him as he listened to her breath.

Kate smiled quietly and softened her voice, "Yeah.."

"I'm serious…" Gibbs gruffed at her lightheartedly.

She gave a hazy chuckle and nodded, "I _know_ you are."

After another brief moment of silence, Kate suddenly spoke, "Go back to sleep, Gibbs."

But frankly, he was already half way there: dozing on the blanket that covered the floor, the phone going slightly slack in his hand. He kept his eyes closed as he swallowed down the sleep that had settled in his throat. He grunted in the affirmative before he mumbled huskily into the phone, "Front door's always open, Katie."

Gibbs snapped the phone shut before she could respond and tossed it to the ground lightly. He crossed his arms over his chest with a sigh as he promptly nodded off with the vaguest of smirks.

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	3. Chapter 3

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_A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read, is reading, and will continue to read my insanity :) And of course to those with the lovely reviews. Love to you as well :) Now, I think this is done.. yeah. I think it is my pets. Maybe a sequel (4-quel?) in some near-to-distant future.. but for now.. 'this house is clean...' Keep on keepin' on cats and kittens :) Let me know how this all came out. (Happy holiday weekend to all :). )  
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The heavy door creaked, announcing her arrival, as Kate peeked her head around the edge of it: peering cautiously into Gibbs' house as if he'd just suddenly jump out at her. The house appeared completely dark from the outside, and once she was satisfied that her observation held its ground from the inside as well, she carefully slipped in and shut the door behind her.

After grasping that Gibbs was probably fast asleep somewhere, she relaxed and acknowledged the cool air emanating slowly from one of several AC vents. She shivered with a small "hmmm." She'd take a shiver over a swelter any hot day of the week. Kate guardedly continued deeper into the house, still not fully convinced that Gibbs wasn't going to pop up behind her. In her head, she could already hear his sugary, mirthful tone, asking her what exactly she was doing; she could clearly see his impish smirk in her mind. She glanced over her shoulder in paranoid anticipation.

Standing in the threshold of the kitchen, she was debating on her next move when she noticed the cracked basement door (what she could only _assume_ was the basement door anyway). Silently, she strode over and poked her head through the small opening that Gibbs had left, peering down the dimly lit wooden staircase and trying to determine whether he was really down there. Kate edged on; taking a stair at a time, she ducked down slightly to take a precautious glance at the basement from the upper steps. A solitary light bulb hung exposed from the ceiling, bathing the basement, the boat, and Gibbs, as luck would have it, in a faint and muted glow. She inhaled the scent of sawdust and faintly smiled.

Kate maneuvered the last few steps in a careful hush before walking steadily alongside the boat, taking it all in an ounce at a time. _Oh Kate, **what** are you doing_… Her common sense wasn't liking this brazen visit, but she walked closer to Gibbs and found herself sitting and balancing herself on her heels beside him on the floor. She exhaled without a sound and cocked her head to one side; exploring his face with delicate scrutiny, an inspection she wished she had the chance to perform more often.

Kate impulsively acted on the urge to brush her fingertips against the side of his face. Before her fingers touched his slightly stubbled cheek, eyes still closed, Gibbs' hand came up and gently grabbed her wrist. He anchored her down with his grip, and wound up pulling her down to him as she completely lost her balance with his sudden movement. Gibbs' eyes flickered open with surprise once he felt the weight of her come down against his chest. He couldn't say that he'd complain.

Kate grumbled lightly with a panicky huff, "Damn it, Gibbs.." She wet her lips reflexively as she brought her eyes up to his. His blue irises grew darker as he squinted at her, gradually becoming fully awake; and fully aware of her.

"You're in my basement." He said, hoarse with sleep.

Kate blinked and began to vaguely panic on the inside. "You said—"

"I _know_ what I said. Didn't think you'd come…" The corner of his mouth rose slightly and she relaxed against him, just a bit. Finally realizing their intimate nearness, she anxiously, accidentally shifted above him, almost cringing after doing so, as she heard him clear his throat. The heat from her body sank steadily down and melted against his clothes as her nervous breath dissipated upon the sensitive skin of his neck. Gibbs resisted the urge to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her tight against him when he felt her breathing become a little heavier. Kate swallowed and looked down to him again; he gently squeezed her wrist that he still had a hold of.

"Gibbs..." his name tumbled from her lips softly as she searched his face for a reason to get up and walk away. Kate tested the waters when she didn't find a concrete answer to that question: she softly, subtly shifted her hips in contact with his as she reached her free hand to the side of his neck— no longer trying to support herself above him, she gently let all of her weight settle on top of him. Completely taken with the look of longing that fleetingly passed across his features, she slowly brought her face down to his; their lips scarcely touching as their slight breath merged and softly pillowed against each other's lips.

He remained perfectly still for a good minute, hesitant as how to continue. But any remnants of his professional resolve shattered as he shamelessly covered the infinitesimal gap that separated them, covering her lips and sliding his hands to her back. With a muted grunt, he pulled her down against him as her body covered his. The kiss was soft, but not without its rough edges.

In a swift motion, knocking over a can of nails to cascade across the basement floor, Gibbs rolled over with Kate in the opposite direction. Supporting himself on his hands, he hovered dangerously above her as he hungrily pressed his lips against hers. Kate groaned lightly into his mouth as he brushed her lower lip lightly with his tongue before firmly pushing into her mouth. He began the most enjoyable task of memorizing every soft curve of her mouth; she tasted just like he imagined she would.

Kate dragged her fingernails down the front of his shirt and slid them to his waist with purpose, gripping his hips and forcing his body to lay flush against hers. He grunted softly and reluctantly broke away from her soft lips, that he'd be sure to bruise at this rate. He looked to her with careful, "are-you-sure" eyes, and she smiled warmly as her breathing slowed.

"You don't have to coddle me, Gibbs." She said huskily, running her palm up his chest and resting it on his shoulder. Kate raised an eyebrow and murmured, "Is there somewhere else, though… without.. _cement_ flooring and a threat of _tetanus_..." She smirked as he gave her one of his seldom-seen, but very inviting, ear-to-ear grins. He lowered his head so his lips brushed against her ear; she shivered with his slow whisper,

"I thought you wanted some sleep, Kate.." He pressed a kiss to the soft spot behind her ear before lacing several more down to the hollow of her throat. He felt her swallow beneath his lips. He looked to her eyes with his mouth still softly against her neck.

She whispered throatily in return, "What I want, Gibbs.. has very little to do with sleep." His eyes widened slightly at her candor and he smiled in surprised amusement. She had an uncanny way of keeping him in his place, but always guessing— one of the many things he liked about Caitlin Todd. One of the many things he loved.

He brought a hand to her waist as he pressed a slow kiss to her collar bone. Kate hummed at the loss of contact as Gibbs slowly rolled off of her body, and sat up beside her. She lay there still, and looked to him with dark, half-lidded eyes, watching him as he stared off to the other side of the basement. She rolled onto her side to face him, reaching over her hand to touch his forearm. When he looked to her, she had herself propped up on her elbow, her cheek pressed up against the palm of her hand. She smiled at him affectionately; a smile that he gladly returned.

He looked down to his lap, his smile turning into an open-mouthed grin as he closed his eyes and shook his head. A throaty chuckle escaped him followed by a sigh as he slapped his knees and hoisted himself off the floor. Gibbs offered her his hand with that unmistakable twinkle in his eyes.

Kate looked up to him and tilted her head to one side. "No such thing as coincidence, Gibbs?" She questioned expectantly.

He smirked as she took hold of his hand, "Nope."

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